Report on pharmacology in China:international article analysis

MU Xin*，ZHAO Ying*，A Li-ta，LI Yang，TANG Xiao-li，ZHANG Yong-xiang，DU Guan-hua（1.InstituteofMateriaMedica，ChineseAcademyofMedicalSciencesandPekingUnionMedical College，Beijing 100050，China；2.ChinesePharmacologicalSociety，Beijing 100050，China；.MedicalInformation Institute，Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences，Beijing 100005，China；4.Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology，Academy of Military Medical Sciences，Beijing 100850，China）

·SCIENCE INSIGHTS·

Report on pharmacology in China:international article analysis

MU Xin1，2*，ZHAO Ying1，2*，A Li-ta3，LI Yang3，TANG Xiao-li3，ZHANG Yong-xiang2，4，DU Guan-hua1，2
（1.InstituteofMateriaMedica，ChineseAcademyofMedicalSciencesandPekingUnionMedical College，Beijing 100050，China；2.ChinesePharmacologicalSociety，Beijing 100050，China；3.MedicalInformation Institute，Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences，Beijing 100005，China；4.Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology，Academy of Military Medical Sciences，Beijing 100850，China）

Pharmacology is a key subject in the field of biosciences.The development in pharmacology is directly related to the progress of medical sciences，pharmaceutical sciences and biological sciences.Chinese modern pharmacology was started up and boosted by several generations of Chinese pharmacologists，and has become a researchsystemcharacterizedbytraditional Chinese medicine（TCM）and natural products.It has significantly promoted the development of clinical medicine，pharmaceutical industry and biosciences in China，and has exerted a great impact worldwide. The establishment of Chinese Pharmacological Society（CNPHARS）in 1985 was a landmark of a new era of Chinese pharmacology.On the 30-year anniversary of CNPHARS，this review will summarize the international articles on pharmaco⁃logical research that have been published by Chinese authors.Based on the data，the current condition， characteristicsanddevelopments trend of pharmacology in China will be analyzed. The objective is to facilitate the rapid and healthy development of pharmacology in China.

To investigate the characteristics of current research of pharmacology in China，and to steer the development of this field by analyzing the articles published in international journals from 1985 to 2015.Articles with Chinese authors published in pharmacology-related international journals originating from natural science edition of Journal Citation Reports（2013）were retrieved.There were 52766 articles with Chinese authors published between 1985 and 2015，including 48301 articles of which Chinese authors were the first author or corresponding author.However，about half of the articles were published after 2010 and the number went up year by year.According to the number of articles，researches are mainly concentrated on traditional Chinese medicine and natural products，which are the highlights and advantages of the pharmacological research in China.Universities and colleges were the main institutions in paper publication in China.The number of articles from research institutes，hospitals and pharmaceutical enterprises was much smaller.Pharmacology in China has achieved considerable progress over the past 30 years.Studies should be based on its own characteristics and more attention should be paid to innovation and application research.

pharmacology；international anticle；China

1　DATA RESOURCES

In order to present the developments of this subject and help researchers learn about the latest progress in this field，hot points and trends of pharmacology in China，218 journals in the Journal Citation Report（JCR），Natural Sciences （pharmacology）2013 were retrieved.The contents include the distributions of journals，affiliations，research fields，and hot points.Articles with high citation indexes were selected out as key points.

2　A GENERAL SURVEY OF INTERNA⁃TIONAL　ARTICLES　PUBLISHED　BY CHINESE RESEARCHERS

2.1 Distribution of article type and amount

Between 1985 and 2015，52 766 articles on pharmacologicalresearchwerepublishedin 218 journals by Chinese authors（searched by September 6th，2015，the same below）.However，about half of the articles were published after 2010，and the number increased year by year，indicating that pharmacology in China is rapidly developing（see Tab.1）.The types of article include researcharticles，meetingabstracts， reviews，notes，letters，editorial materials and corrections. The number of research articles was by far the largest（81.73%of total）.Notes made up a considerable proportion before 1995，while meeting abstracts increased rapidly after 1995.In 2014，the number of Chinese research articles（4588）was close to that of American ones（5946），while the number of meeting abstracts and reviews was still far behind［1］，indicating that scientific exchange should be strengthened in China.

2.2Country/region distribution of first/corre⁃sponding authors

Among all the articles published between 1985 and 2015，48 301 articles had Chinese authors as the first or corresponding author，accounting for 91.54%of the total，followed by is the United States and Japan.

The number was 2083 for the United States （3.95%）and 880 for Japan（1.67%），respectively. Before 1999，most of the first/corresponding authors in China were from Taiwan of China.As more attention was paid to basic researches，authors from Chinese mainland became the majority of the first/corresponding authors.It can be concluded that most articles published by Chinese authors have been based on domestic researches.Most of the overseas collaborators are from the United States and Japan，and some from Europe and adjacent countries in Asia.Most of the international collaborations of Chinese researchers are visiting scholars or returned scholars from abroad.The United States and Japan attract most Chinese scholars and students.

2.3Distribution of research fields

Intermsofquantity，mostofChinese pharmacological articles are on herbal medicines，which accords with the important status of TCM in China.Herbal medicine and natural medicine are the most distinctive characteristics in Chinese pharmacological research，determined by the characteristics of Chinese medical systems.As a traditional predominant subject，TCM is a treasure of Chinese traditional medical sciences.In the past thousands of years，TCM has been proven clinically to have remarkable curative effect on a variety of diseases，and has been a key research subject for Chinese pharmacologists.However，because of the intrinsic characteristics of TCM，research methods and the complex systems havegainedlittleinternationalacceptance，which makes it hard to publish TCM pharmacological research in international journals.A large numberof pharmacological researches on TCM have been published in Chinese domestic journals，and some herbal medicine researches are published in international journals.Moreover，drug toxicity，neuropharmacology，biochemical and molecular pharmacology are also the fields Chinese articles focus on.

Tab.1　Pharmacological research papers published by Chinese authors from 1985 to 2015

2.4Analysis of hot points

Modern Chinese pharmacological research was started between 1985 and 1999.At that time（simulating and exploring stage），Chinese pharmacologywasmostlyfocusedonthe mechanism of drug effect.As time went by on，moreattentionhaspaidtobothonbasic researches and application values.In recent years，pharmacokinetics has gained rapid devel⁃opment，which plays an important role in new drug discovery research and clinical individualized medication.Modern technologies，such as high performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrum，has promoted the progress in pharma⁃cokinetics.In neuropharmacologicalresearch，Alzheimer disease is the hottest point.Breast cancer，lung cancer and hepatic tumor pharma⁃cology are the focuses in cancer pharmacological research.Signal transductions and related biomac⁃romolecules have been researched most intensively in biochemical and molecular pharmacology.And diabetic pharmacology has attracted the largest part of researches on endocrine pharmacology.

3　ANALYSIS　OF　INTERNATIONAL JOURNALS PUBLISHED BY CHINESE RESEARCHERS

3.1Distribution of journal impact factor

Between 1985 and 2015，3256 articles were published by Chinese scholars in 20 pharmaco⁃logical journals with an impact factor（IF）higher than 5（Tab.2）.The highest IF is 41.908 for Nature Reviews Drug Discovery.Since 2005，15 articles with Chinese authors have been published in this journal.Nearly half of the articles with a high IF were published during the past five years，which indicated that more and more Chinese achievements on pharmacological researches have been accepted by international colleagues.

3.2Article distribution in journals

The journals that have published the most of Chinese pharmacological articles are listed in Tab.3.Acta Pharmacologica Sinica took the first place with 4313 Chinese articles.This journal is co-sponsored by Chinese Pharmacological Society and Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica，Chinese Academy of Sciences.As the only domestic pharmacological journal that has been included in Science Citation Index（SCI），Acta Pharmacologica Sinica appeals to Chinese authors.Journals that focusonnaturalmedicinesandtraditional medicines are favorite ones for Chinese authors，such as Planta Medica，and Journal of Natural Products.

4　DISTRIBUTION OF CITATION RATES

The citation rate of an article is related to both its impact and its date of publication.By the time we searched the database，19 Chinese articles were found to have been cited more than 300 times，including11researcharticlesand8 reviews.Most of the high cited articles were published between 1995 and 2004.The most cited research article is″Antioxidant activity and phenolic compounds of 112 traditional Chinese medicinalplantsassociatedwithanticancer″published in Life Sciences in 2004 by authors from Hong Kong University［2］，which has been cited 691 times.Other articles that have been citedformorethan400timesinclude：① ″Radix Puerariae:an overview of its chemistry，pharmacology，pharmacokinetics，and clinical use″（for 543 times）［3］，by authors from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.②″Free radical scavengingactivitiesofmushroompolysac⁃charide extracts″（for 475 times）［4］，by authors intheChineseUniversityofHongKong. ③ ″Stability of curcumin in buffer solutions and characterization of its degradation products″（for 472 times）［5］，by authors in National TaiwanUniversity.④ ″Targeted drug delivery via the transferrin receptor-mediated endocytosis pathway″（for 472 times）［6］，by authors in the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.⑤″Ultrafine titanium dioxide particles in the absence of photoactivation can induce oxidative damage to human bronchial epithelial cells″（for 444 times）［7］，by authors in Hsing Wu University in Taiwan.⑥″（-）-Epigallo⁃catechin-3-gallate blocks the induction of nitric oxide synthase by down-regulating lipopolysac⁃charide-induced activity of transcription factor nuclear factor-kappaB″（for 416 times）［8］，by authors in National Taiwan University.⑦″Flavo⁃noids：promising anticancer agents″（for 409 times）［9］，by authors in the 2ndHospital of Shanxi Medical University.It could be shown that the most articles with high citations are published by Hong Kong authors，and the most contents are related to natural products and traditional medicines.

Tab.2　Pharmacological research papers published by Chinese authors in high quality journals from 1985 to 2015

5　ANALYSISOFFOUNDATIONSUPPORT

A large part of the Chinese international arti⁃cles have been supported by scientific founda⁃tions.Considering the range of support，amount and impact，four main domestic foundations in China were taken into account，including the National Natural Science Foundation of China （NSFC），NationalKeyBasicResearchand Development Program（973 Program），National High Tech Research and Development Program （863 Program），and Major Project for Significant New Drugs Innovation and Development（MajorProject）.Besides，because of the limited database，only articles after 2005 were analyzed.Considering the amount，NSFC supported 10 030 articles，which make up the largest part of all supported articles.The reason may be that NSFC has long been the largest supporter of basic natural scientific research in China.As for other foundations，573 articles have been supported by″973 Program″，276 articles by″863 Program″，and 170 articles by the Major Project.The number of the articles supported by the Major Project is small partly because of the short duration of Major Project （only 5 years）and patent protection for new drugs.Compared with other countries，more scholars in China are supported by government foundations and less by pharmaceutical companies.

Tab.3　International journals published most pharmacological research papers from Chinese authors from 1985 to 2015

6　ANALYSIS　OF　AFFILIATION　OF CHINESE SCHOLARS

Between 1985 and 2015，more Chinese first/corresponding authors were from universities or colleges than from scientific institutions or hospitals.Before 2005，most of the organiza⁃ tions from which Chinese authors published their international articles were in Hong Kong or Taiwan of China，but mainland organizations became the majority after 2005（Tab.4）.The pharmacological research in China is mainly based on universities rather than on institutions.The research strength in hospitals and pharmaceutical enterprises should be enhanced.The level of a hospital is closely related to its pharmacological research，so it is important for hospitals to attach importance to pharmacology.Moreover，no enterprises can become international without a strong ability to innovate.Lack of innovation hinders thedevelopmentofChinesepharmaceutical enterprises.

7　CONCLUSION

After three decades of efforts，the development of pharmacology in China has entered a new era.A large number of original articles have been published in international journals.The pharmacological research in China is highly char⁃acterized by traditional Chinese medicine andnatural product research.The impact of Chinese pharmacological research is increasing in the world，and some subjects have been a leader. However，there is still a big gap between China anddevelopedcountriesinpharmacological development.On one hand，pharmacological research in China should be based on its own characteristics，i.e.focusing on TCM traditional and modern research.On the other hand，innovation shouldbestrengthenedinpharmaceutical research，and applied research should be highly valued to guide clinical medication.In one word，pharmacological research in China should be aligned with the trend of development worldmide，and aim to lead the world in pharmaceutical development in the world.

Tab.4　Organization distribution of published papers with Chinese first/corresponding authors from 1985 to 2015

［1］ Mu X，Zhao Y，A LT，Li Y，Tang XL，Du GH.A comparative study of pharmacology between China and America in 2014［J］.Chin Pharmacol Bull（中国药理学通报），2015，31（5）:593-596.

［2］ Cai Y，Luo Q，Sun M，Corke H.Antioxidant activity and phenolic compounds of 112 traditional Chinese medicinal plants associated with anticancer［J］. Life Sci，2004，74（17）:2157-2184.

［3］Zhang Z，Lam TN，Zuo Z.Radix Puerariae:an overview of its chemistry，pharmacology，pharma⁃cokinetics，and clinical use［J］.J Clin Pharmacol，2013，53（8）:787-811.

［4］ Liu F，Ooi VE，Chang ST.Free radical scavenging activitiesofmushroom polysaccharide extracts ［J］.Life Sci，1997，60（10）:763-771.

［5］WangYJ，PanMH，ChengAL，LinLI，Ho YS，Hsieh CY，et al.Stability of curcumin in buffer solutions and characterization of its degradation products［J］.J Pharm Biomed Anal，1997，15（12）: 1867-1876.

［6］ Qian ZM，Li H，Sun H，Ho K.Targeted drug deliv⁃ery via the transferrin receptor-mediated endocy⁃tosis pathway［J］.Pharmacol Rev，2002，54（4）: 561-587.

［7］ Gurr JR，Wang AS，Chen CH，Jan KY.Ultrafine ti⁃tanium dioxide particles in the absence of photo⁃activation can induce oxidative damage to human bronchial epithelial cells［J］.Toxicology，2005，213 （1-2）:66-73.

［8］Lin YL，Lin JK.（-）-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate blocks the induction of nitric oxide synthase by downregulatinglipopolysaccharide-inducedactivity of transcription factor nuclear factor-kappaB［J］.Mol Pharmacol，1997，52（3）:465-472.

［9］Ren W，Qiao Z，Wang H，Zhu L，Zhang L.Flavonoids: promising anticancer agents［J］.Med Res Rev，2003，23（4）:519-534.

10.3867/j.issn.1000-3002.2016.03.001

中国药理学研究30年：国际论文发表分析

穆鑫1，2*，赵 颖1，2*，阿丽塔3，李阳3，唐小利3，张永祥2，4，杜冠华1，2
（1.中国医学科学院北京协和医学院药物研究所，北京 100050；2.中国药理学会，北京 100050；3.中国医学科学院医学信息研究所，北京 100005；4.军事医学科学院毒物药物研究所，北京 100850）

检索《2013版期刊引证报告自然科学版》药理学期刊中，1985-2015年中国作者发文情况，了解中国药理学学科发展的特点，引导我国药理学的发展。30年间（1985-2015）中国作者共发表文章52 766篇，其中中国作者为第一/通讯作者的文章48 301篇。其中约50%的文章是2010年以后发表的，且数量逐年增多。从文章数量上看，我国研究主要集中在中药与天然产物领域，这也是我国药理学研究的特色和传统优势所在。从研究机构上看，高校发表的文章数量较多，研究所、医院及制药企业发文较少。在过去30年中，我国药理学发展取得了长足进步，我国研究应立足自身特点，加强创新及应用性研究。

药理学；国际论文；中国

中国科学技术协会学会能力提升专项

张永祥，E-mail:zhangyx@bmi.ac.cn，Tel:（010）66931018；杜冠华，E-mail:dugh@imm.ac.cn，Tel:（010）63165184

2015-09-07接受日期：2015-12-10）

R-1Document code：AArticle ID：1000-3002-（2016）03-0183-07

*共同第一作者.

（本文编辑：乔虹）

The project supported by Special Foundation to Improve the Ability of Society of China Association for Science and Technology

ZHANG Yong-xiang，E-mail：zhangyx@bmi.ac.cn，Tel：（010）66931018；DU Guan-hua，E-mail：dugh@imm.ac.cn，Tel：（010）63165184

*Co-first author.